Stayed at Sante Fe Dec 20-27.
This was my 3rd Riu vacation, but my first to the Santa Fe. This resort just opened in November 2007.

Check in was a breeze. Room was ready and was quite nice. Comfortable and clean.
The resort is very clean and spacious. Its easy to get around and lots of options in terms of where you can spend your time.

Made reservations at the steakhouse and also at the asian restaurant. Both were disgusting, the asian being the worst of the two. Truly horrible. Avoid it. I'm not one for buffet dining, but in this case, it was the best option.

No bottled beer, other than what is in the room fridge. The room fridge is replenished every 2 days; it should be every day really.
Mojitos were good, but after a few, your day may start to take on a shape you werent expecting, next thing you know, youre in town swinging off the chandeliers.

Two pools, one by the beach and one up in the central area of the resort. 2 different vibes, both have their own appeal.
I found it to be quieter at the pool by the beach, and the view is of lands end, a real treat. The pool in the main area has the "party vibe" with music being pumped out over a large speaker set up poolside. The music was crap, song after song, and I often felt as though it was the employees choosing their own preferences, then dancing with eachother around the pool. A bit much really. Often they were trying to get people involved in little games, drinking competitions etc. When people werent getting up to volunteer themselves the staff would use a line that people shouldnt be embarrassed about getting up because no one knows you. I was surprised that it didnt occur to them that people might simply be not interested in being involved. This type of thing was pretty much continual at the main pool.
In addition, we were driven mad by endless games of Marco Polo being played by the child guests. Initially cute and funny, turned quickly into unsettling torture.
Checked out the spa. It is an outsourced service, being run as a seperate business. I finally talked my husband into getting a pedicure, which he agreed to after several draft coronas. Unfortunately, the woman performing my husbands cut his foot. Totally unprofessional about it. It has also raised Hepatitis concerns, so a doctors appointent will result. Ive had more pedi's than I can count, and this one was far from worth it. Not recommended.
Going into town is a must. Check out Mole Mio's (not sure if i have spelled correctly). Great food and margaritas.
Dont spend more than a grand for this holiday.
Hopefully the wrinkles will be ironed out with the passing of time, I mean, they just opened really....in their defence.
Good luck.

Hotel - The hotel is very nice and the rooms are very nice as well. We were a large family that had booked 5 rooms. We got in late at night and they had given away our rooms that we had requested to be all together. None of the five rooms were together and in different buildings. The day we arrived they could not do anything for us. The next day after hassling with front desk it appeared that they were not going to anything for us. We had two young girls in one of the room which we would have liked to have been attached or next to the parents room. After being frustrated for a couple of hours i asked to speak to the duty manager who was Oliver. Oliver fixed everything for us. From then onwards anything with the rooms that we needed Oliver delivered for us.

The food was very average. Although i thought it did get better the last day we were there. Italian was so so. The asian had good sushi. The mexican was probably the best one. did not go to the steak house.


My 15 year old did loose her expensive necklace from the room. I suggest if you are going there that you don't take expensive jewellry there.

The beach is very nice. The pools are nice as well. They really need to crank up the heat in the pool. Other guests who sneaked into the palace said that the pools there were warmer.

Watch out if you sign up for the ATV excursion. We heard a number of people had accidents and were hurt.

Not too many activities. I have stayed at other resorts where there are more activities and more things for teenagers and kids to do. The shows were not that great. Wish they had more aerobics, yoga, pilates etc.

The workout room is nice. The spa is good as well. Silly but no towels in the spa. You have to bring the towels from your room.

The bartenders were friendly. Tip them well and you will be served right away.

We went to the RIU Santa Fe and it was wonderful. When we arrived at the resort we were immediatly welcomed with refreshments and the willingness to help with our luggage. The resort is very clean and has a lot to offer. Beautiful swimming pools, jacuzzi, spa, massage, swim up bar pools, variety of resturants and bars. There seem to always be food and drinks available at all hours of the day. The staff at the resort could not do enough to accomidate our needs. The view of the Pacific ocean from the swim up bar pool was awesome. It was very relaxing in the sun shine. It was approx 83-85 degrees during the hours of 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. then it cooled down in the evenings. Just in time for dinner and shopping. The only item I would caution you on is the shower/tubs in the rooms have a "V" shape to them. Don't get in the shower while under the influence of cocktails. It could be ugly... I can't wait to go back...

My husband and I stayed at the Riu for 10 days for our honeymoon in November. We arrived opening day, and to be honest, we expected things would go wrong... and they did. There were a lot of positives, too, though.

Pros:
*Upon check-in, we were greeted with drinks, cheers and song, and a red rose (for being there first day).
*Check-in was fast and easy.
*The bartenders, recreation people, and pool staff were friendly and top-notch. We really appreciated the bartenders like Rene, Jorge, and others.
*Bottled water, Coronas, and soda stocked in the fridge everyday. Bottled tequilla, whiskey, and others as well, but we didn't use it.
*The pool, grounds, general building was very beautiful. Our pictures turned out really nice.
*The spa and facilities (although you had to make reservations to sit in the free hot spa).

Cons:
*The hotel was in the midst of getting ready for guests, and there was still painting and construction going on in our building. The smell of varnish and the noise of workers (at all hours of the day) was too much for my stomach to take. There was no elevator in this building, and there was no way around the smell. We asked for a room change, and after nearly breaking down in tears at the lobby, we were able to move our room. We moved from a pool view room, to a room facing the palace building, but it was worth it. Plus there was an elevator in the new building. But I still don't know why we didn't get an ocean view room as the hotel was only about 25% full.
*We had problems opening our hotel door. Apparently, you had to pull on the door handle while inserting the key and turning. We stood outside our door for a while trying to open it. There are no phones in the building floors, so we had to walk all the way down to the lobby and get someone to help us. That was frustrating. It would have been helpful if the bellboy had pointed this out.
*Our electricity went off for a day, and we had to call the lobby in the dark, and wait for them to help us. After about a 1/2 hour, they called back and told us that we just needed to flip the electricity switch. We didn't realize you could turn off the electricity in the room. Again, the bellboy could have pointed this out.
*Our toilet stopped working the morning after we arrived, and when someone came out to fix it, it worked for a while, and then broke again.
*The entertainment was cheesy and painful to watch. We snuck over to the Palace and watched their shows.
*There were only a few restaurants open during the time we stayed. So the food got really boring for us - - although it was really good. We only went to the steakhouse once. The reservation process for restaurants is frustrating, as you have to make them in person (it's a long walk). We ended up sneaking over to the Palace to eat, and we were not stopped. The food over there is great.
*Coffee is terrible at this hotel. They are in serious need of a change here. Each time I ordered a cup of coffee, it would be different as well.
*There is a lot of walking at this hotel. The restaurants and lobby area are where most of the activities take place, and a it's quite a distance.
*The hotel was barely full the entire time we stayed (maybe a 1/4 full). The hotel wasn't ready for people. There was still work going on, restaurants weren't open, the steam room wasn't working, the spas didn't work a few times, the volleyball nets for the pool weren't installed yet.... I could go on.
*The food in the sports bar is terrible. The chips are stale, and the fridge is stocked with cooked hamburgers, hotdogs, and bland ham sandwiches.
*They charge $8 for an hour of Internet use in the sports bar. Five minutes into our 60 minutes of Internet time, it quit working on us. The computer guy couldn't fix it and wouldn't give us our money back. He kept calling someone on the phone trying to fix it. It would have been simpler to just give me another code so I could begin again (I only used 5 minutes). He refused to do that, wouldn't listen to me, and refused to give me a refund. I went out to the lobby to get someone to help me, and then we grabbed someone else who finally refunded my money and gave me another 60 minute code. This whole ordeal lasted 40 minutes.